Use of WHONET-SaTScan system for simulated real-time detection of antimicrobial resistance clusters in a hospital in Italy, 2012 to 2014

Abstract

Resistant pathogens infections cause in healthcare settings, higher patient mortality, longer hospitalisation times and higher costs for treatments. Strengthening and coordinating local, national and international surveillance systems is the cornerstone for the control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In this study, the WHONET-SaTScan software was applied in a hospital in Italy to identify potential outbreaks of AMR. Data from San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome between 2012 and 2014 were extracted from the national surveillance system for antimicrobial resistance (AR-ISS) and analysed using the simulated prospective analysis for real-time cluster detection included in the WHONET-SaTScan software. Results were compared with the hospital infection prevention and control system. The WHONET-SaTScan identified 71 statistically significant clusters, some involving pathogens carrying multiple resistance phenotypes. Of these 71, three were also detected by the hospital system, while a further 15, detected by WHONET-SaTScan only, were considered of relevant importance and worth further investigation by the hospital infection control team. In this study, the WHONET-SaTScan system was applied for the first time to the surveillance of AMR in Italy as a tool to strengthen this surveillance to allow more timely intervention strategies both at local and national level, using data regularly collected by the Italian national surveillance system.

Applying core theory and spatial analysis to identify hepatitis C virus infection “core areas” in British Columbia, Canada

“…Using data at the DA level from the BC‐HTC allows for accurate identification of HCV infection clusters that can assist local health authorities in HCV services delivery and targeted interventions to prevent and provide care for HCV infection. Through regular updates of the BC‐HTC data, real time and timely HCV data can be provided and analysed through these methods particularly SatScan as has been done in other jurisdictions with infectious diseases . Interventions can then be targeted to HCV core areas and evaluation of HCV prevention programmes can be conducted to improve service delivery and prevent HCV.…”

“…42 timely HCV data can be provided and analysed through these methods particularly SatScan as has been done in other jurisdictions with infectious diseases. 56,57 Interventions can then be targeted to HCV core areas and evaluation of HCV prevention programmes can be conducted to improve service delivery and prevent HCV.…”

A Feasible Laboratory-Strengthening Intervention Yielding a Sustainable Clinical Bacteriology Sector to Support Antimicrobial Stewardship in a Large Referral Hospital in Ethiopia

“…The laboratory further began supporting antimicrobial stewardship by generating regularly updated cumulative antibiograms (Figure 1). Finally, WHONET software (27,28) was implemented in the laboratory with support from EPHI, in order to link data between institutional testing FIGURE 1 | Screenshots of the commercially available subscription-based online resource on which we were able to insert cumulative antibiogram data as well as tailored clinical guidelines on antimicrobial use, informed by local susceptibility patterns (Sanford Guide with Stewardship Assist TM ; https://www.sanfordguide.com/ stewardship-assist/). Accessible to all registered physicians at TASH via their smartphone.…”

Automated outbreak detection of hospital-associated pathogens: Value to infection prevention programs

“…The use of space-time and higher dimensional scan statistics has been used to detect geographic and temporal clustering of events. [3][4][5][6][7][8] SaTScan (www.satscan.org) is a free diseasesurveillance software containing various spatial and space-time scan statistics. 9 This software is widely used to detect and evaluate geographical disease clusters, including applications to detect community disease outbreaks.…”